LG Reform Forum – change of date | SA Best local government policy | Rate capping campaign | 2018 council elections | Community housing | My Local Services | Slowing traffic with optical illusions | 2018/19 SA Road Safety Action Plan | Election commitments | State election candidate update No Images? Click here Special weekly update from the LGA President Vol 3: Issue 5 - Monday 12 February 2018 Dear Mayors and CouncillorsWe have seen a few more announcements over the last few days from various parties. SA Best have released their local government policy and it has some interesting ideas within it. The SA Liberal party has released their full document too, and we are tracking all of these policies and their impacts to relay them to you. I would love your feedback on anything you hear or read. LGA President Mayor Lorraine Rosenberg LG Reform Forum – change of date Last week I advised that a Local Government Reform Forum would be held at the Stamford Plaza on 23 February. Unfortunately, this dates clashes with the 2018 Local Government Professionals State Conference, so we will need to reschedule our event to enable council CEOs and senior managers to attend. A new date is currently being finalised, and I will let you know as soon as it is confirmed. SA Best local government policy Earlier today SA Best released their local government policy. We support many of their proposals as they recognize and address issues that the LGA and councils have been raising for many years around cost shifting, and providing local government with the tools and resources necessary to strengthen the sector. Local government reform, benchmarking, and no rate capping are all commitments we have sought in our election document ‘Uncapped Potential’. We also support a stronger code of conduct, and are keen to discuss opportunities for councils to deliver localized services currently provided by the State – as long as they are properly funded to do so. However, we are cautious about proposals that undermine the independence of local government, and want to hear more from SA Best about how their standing committee and commission for local government would work. This would include whether councils could use the standing committee to build greater awareness and understanding of local government issues within the State Parliament, including the impacts of cost shifting on council budgets. Councils are already subject to significant State Government oversight, and it should be communities that councils are ultimately accountable to - not the State Parliament. Rate capping campaignWe have now commenced the third phase of our campaign to oppose the introduction of rate capping. This phase will include advertising on social media, and in particular through Facebook. If you see our ads in your Facebook timeline I would urge you to stand up for our sector and take a moment to comment about what rate capping could cost your community. We know better than anyone the pressure councils are under to do more with less, and it’s up to us to let our communities know that a rate cap would ultimately cost them more than it would save. I know that many of you are social media savvy, but if you would like some help to set up or use your Facebook account, the LGA team would be happy to help you. Please contact Sama Reid at sama.reid@lga.sa.gov.au or call 8224 2029 if you require assistance. 2018 council electionsA key focus for your Association this year will be working with councils to increase the diversity of candidates running in the 2018 council elections. Less than 30 percent of the council members elected in 2014 were women, and at our 2016 AGM councils asked the LGA to implement strategies to improve on this figure. We also want to improve representation from other currently underrepresented groups in our sector, including Aboriginal, youth, and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities. In recent months we have developed a suite of creative materials that councils can adapt and use to promote the elections. We have also developed a communications and engagement guide for councils outlining practical steps that can be taken to more effectively engage with women and other underrepresented groups, and encourage them to run for council. I will keep you updated on further council elections developments as the year progresses. Community housing and the cost to councilsIt was fantastic to see Mount Gambier MP Troy Bell speak out in last week’s Border Watch about the financial impact of community housing transfers on his community. Since 2015 the State Government has transferred more than 5,000 SA Housing Trust properties to Community Housing Providers (CHPs), incentivized with a legislated rates rebate. These properties receive a mandatory 75% rebate on council rates, whereas the State Government previously paid full rates on them. The cost impact on impacted councils in lost rates revenue is around $4.4 million a year for every 5,000 properties transferred, and we understand as many as 12,000 properties could be transferred by 2020. Public housing is a State Government responsibility. Applying a mandatory rates rebate on transferred properties just shifts the responsibility to councils and their ratepayers. It also disproportionately affects some councils which have a high level of public housing stock. The LGA understands that affordable and sustainable public housing is an issue for our State - especially with the growing waiting list - and we support the objectives behind transferring public housing stock to Community Housing Providers. However, we don’t think that councils and ratepayers should be left to pick up the tab. I was pleased to see SA Best commit to reviewing the mandatory rebates councils are required to provide, and in the lead up to the state election the LGA will ask all political parties to support legislation that would remove the 75% rates rebate for Community Housing Providers. My Local ServicesThe LGA’s My Local Services app has been tremendously successful in connecting communities to councils through phones. To date, the app has achieved over 40,000 downloads, and is currently being used by 45 South Australian councils. We’ve already got five councils in Tasmania using the app, and we recently signed up the City of Newcastle in NSW as well. They have now launched their local version, and it’s terrific to see technology developed and refined by the LGA of SA and our members being successfully implemented by councils interstate. Slowing traffic with optical illusionsI read an interesting article recently about how three dimensional images are being painted onto roads overseas to slow down traffic and improve road safety. On roads in India, the United Kingdom, Iceland, the United States and Canada three dimensional zebra crossings, holes, speed bumps, and even children have all been painted, with the aim of “tricking” drivers into reducing their speed. I understand the cost of designing and painting three dimensional zebra crossings is only slightly more expensive when compared to traditional crossings. While there’s a lack of comprehensive research available on their effectiveness, Chicago’s Department of Transportation reported to local media that there were 36 percent fewer crashes in the six months after an optical illusion zebra crossing was painted, compared to the same six month period in the previous year. If I hear more about this approach – including details of any research into its effectiveness – I will pass this information on to you. 2018/19 SA Road Safety Action PlanLast week saw the release of the SA Road Safety Action Plan for 2018/19. While it is predominantly a State Government plan, it was developed with input from the LGA, and includes local government as a partner in some actions. The Action Plan also includes a commitment of continued investment in targeted black spot locations with $6.2 million per year from the National Black Spot Program, and completing the four-year State Government commitment to spend $36.6 million by 2017/18. We believe that upgrading our regional roads is vital to improving road safety, and reducing speed limits is a quick fix but not the best solution for SA. The LGA will continue to advocate to all parties for increased state and federal investment in our State’s road network, particularly in regional areas. Election commitmentsIn the past week SA Labor have committed to providing up to $2 million year for kiss and drop zones in schools if elected next March. The LGA called for this funding commitment in our state election platform ‘South Australia. Uncapped potential’, and we welcome this announcement. The SA Liberal Party has also announced that, if elected, it would construct a tourism bike trail between Adelaide and Melbourne. While we don’t have costings or additional information, it’s envisaged that the design, construction and maintenance of this infrastructure would involve local government in some capacity, and we would be keen to hear more on the proposal. State election candidate update The below is a list of known candidates from local government contesting the 2018 state election. Lachlan Clyne • Liberal • Badcoe • lachlan.clyne@sa.liberal.org.au John Woodward • Independent • Badcoe • badcoe2018@gmail.com Jassmine Wood • SA Best • Colton • jassmine.wood@sabest.org.au Karen Hockley • SA Best • Davenport • karen.hockley@sabest.org.au Carol Martin • SA Best • Enfield • carol.martin@sabest.org.au Kendall Jackson • Liberal • Frome • kendall.jackson@sa.liberal.org.au Kris Hanna • SA Best • Gibson • kris.hanna@sabest.org.au Tom Antonio • SA Best • Giles • tom.antonio@sabest.org.au Marijka Ryan • Independent • Hartley mryan@ecotecpm.com.au Lynton Vonow • Greens • Heysen • heysen@sa.greens.org.au Andrew Stratford • SA Best • Kavel • andrew.stratford@sabest.org.au Paula Luethen • Liberal • King • paula.luethen@sa.liberal.org.au Steven Rypp • Liberal • Lee • steven.rypp@sa.liberal.org.au Andy Legrand • SA Best • Lee • andy.legrand@sabest.org.au Karen McColl • Liberal • Light • karen.mccoll@sa.liberal.org.au Hazel Wainwright • SA Best • Mawson • hazel.wainwright@sabest.org.au Peter Field • Labor • Morialta • peter.field@alp.org.au Stephen Patterson • Liberal • Morphett • stephen.patterson@sa.liberal.org.au Gary Johanson • SA Best • Port Adelaide • gary.johanson@sabest.org.au Sam Johnson • SA Best • LegCo • sam.johnson@sabest.org.au For further information or to submit |